2013年职称英语考试理工类冲刺试卷及答案(6)

　　第4部分：阅读理解(第31～45题，每题3分，共45分)

　　下面有3篇短文，每篇短文后有5道题。请根据短文内容，为每题确定1个最佳选项。

　　第一篇

　　Putting Plants to Work

　　Using the power of the sun is nothing new. People have had solar-powered calculators and buildings with solar panels for decades. But plants are the real experts: They’ve been using sunlight as an energy source for billions of years.

　　Cells in the green leaves of plants work like tiny factories to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugars and starches, stored energy that the plants can use. This conversion process is called photosynthesis. Unfortunately, unless you’re a plant, it’s difficult and expensive to convert sunlight into storable energy. That’s why scientists are taking a closer look at exactly how plants do it.

　　Some scientists are trying to get plants, or biological cells that act like plants, to work as miniature photosynthetic power stations. For example, Maria Ghirardi of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., is working with green algae. She’s trying to trick them into producing hydrogen instead of sugars when they perform photosynthesis. Once the researchers can get the algae working efficiently, the hydrogen that they produce could be used to power fuel cells in cars or to generate electricity.

　　The algae are grown in narrow-necked glass bottles to produce hydrogen in me lab. During photosynthesis, plants normally make sugars or starches. “But under certain conditions, a lot of algae are able to use the sunlight energy not to store starch, but to make hydrogen.” Ghirardi says. For example, algae will produce hydrogen in an airfree environment. It’s the oxygen in the air that prevents algae from making hydrogen most of the time.

　　Working in an airfree environment, however, is difficult. It’s not a practical way to produce cheap energy. But Ghirardi and her colleagues have discovered that by removing a chemical called sulfate from the environment that the algae grow in, they will make hydrogen instead of sugars, even when air is present.

　　Unfortunately, removing the sulfate also makes the algae’s cells work very slowly, and not much hydrogen is produced. Still, the researchers see this as a first step in their goal to produce hydrogen efficiently from algae. With more work, they may be able to speed the cells’ activity and produce larger quantities of hydrogen.

　　The researchers hope that algae will one day be an easy-to-use fuel source. The organisms are cheap to get and to feed, Ghirardi says, and they can grow almost anywhere: “You can grow them in a reactor, in a pond. You can grow them in the ocean. There’s a lot of flexibility in how you can use these organisms. ’’

　　31. What does the writer say about plants concerning solar energy?

　　A. Plants are the real experts in producing solar energy.

　　B. Plants have been used to produce solar energy.

　　C. Plants have been using solar energy for billions of years.

　　D. Plants have been a source of solar energy.

　　32. Why do some scientists study how plants convert sunlight into carbon dioxide, and water into sugars and starches?

　　A. Because they want algae to produce sugars and starches.

　　B. Because they want green plants to become a new source of energy.

　　C. Because they want to turn plant sugars to a new form of energy.

　　D. Because they want to make photosynthesis more efficient.

　　33. According to the fifth paragraph, under what conditions are algae able to use solar energy to make hydrogen?

　　A. When there is a lot of oxygen in the air.

　　B. When there is no oxygen in the air.

　　C. When photosynthesis is taking place.

　　D. When enough starch is stored.

　　34. Researchers have met with difficulties when trying to make algae produce hydrogen efficiently. Which one of the following is one such difficulty?

　　A. It is not possible to remove sulfate from the environment.

　　B. It is not possible to work in an airfree environment to produce hydrogen.

　　C. It is not easy to make sugars instead of hydrogen.

　　D. It 1s too slow for algae to produce hydrogen when the sulfate is removed.

　　35. What is NOT true of algae?

　　A. They are easy to grow.

　　B. They can be a very good fuel source.

　　C. They are cheap to eat.

　　D. They can be used in many ways.

　　第二篇

　　“Life Form Found” on Saturn’s Titan

　　Scientists say they have discovered hints of alien life on the Saturn’s moon. The discovery of a sort of life was announced after researchers at the US space agency, NASA, analyzed data from spacecraft Cassini, which pointed to,the existence of methane-based form of life on Saturn’s biggest moon.

　　Scientists have reportedly discovered clues showing primitive alien beings are “breathing” in Titan’s dense atmosphere filled with hydrogen.

　　They argue that hydrogen gets absorbed before hitting Titan’s planet-like surface covered with methane lakes and rivers. This, they say, points to the existence of some “bugs” consuming the hydrogen at the surface of the moon less than half the size of the Earth.

　　“We suggested hydrogen consumption because it’s the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan,similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth,”says NASA scientist Chris McKay. “If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life, it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth.”

　　To date,scientists have not yet detected this form of life anywhere, though there are liquid-water-based microorganisms on Earth that grow well on methane or produce it as a waste product. On Titan, where temperatures are around 90 Kelvin minus 290 degrees Farenheit),a methanebased organism would have to use a substance that is liquid as its medium for living processes, but not water itself. Water is frozen solid on Titan’s surface and much too cold to support life as we know it.

　　Scientists had expected the Sun’s interactions with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce a coating of acetylene on Titan’s surface. But Cassini detected no acetylene on the surface.

　　The absence of detectable acetylene on the Titan’s surface can very well have a non-biological explanation,said Mark Allen,a principal investigator of the NASA Titan team.

　　“Scientific conservatism suggests that a biological explanation should be the last choice after all non-biological explanations are addressed,”Allen said. “We have a lot of work to do to rule out possible non-biological explanations. It is more likely that a chemical process,without biology,can explain these results.”

　　36 .What have scientists found about Saturn?

　　A .They have found a new moon orbiting Saturn.

　　B. They have found methane-based life on Saturn.

　　C. They have found methane-based life on Titan.

　　D. They have found earthlike life on a Saturn’s moon.

　　37. What do scientists say about Titan?

　　A. There are life clues there.

　　B. There is acetylene there.

　　C. Water on Titan exists in the form of ice.

　　D. Rivers and lakes there contain life formls.

　　38. To date, scientists have not yet detected this form of life. (paragraph 5) What does “this form of life” refer to?

　　A. Water-based life.

　　B. Methane-based life.

　　C. Liquid-water-based microorganisms.

　　D. Gas-based life.

　　39. What can be inferred from what Allen said?

　　A. Scientists have different arguments over whether there is life on Titan.

　　B. Scientists all agree that there is life on Titan.

　　C. Scientists all suggest that a biological explanation is reasonable.

　　D. Scientists all agree that a non-biological chemical reaction is a possible explanation.

　　40. Which of the following can replace the title of this passage?

　　A. Earthlike Living Beings Found on Titan.

　　B. Finding of One More Moon of Saturn.

　　C. Titan,a New Satellite Found.

　　D. A different Life Form, a Possibility.

　　第三篇

　　Listening Device Provides Landslide Early Warning

　　A device that provides early warningof a landslide by monitoring vibrations in soil is being testedby UK researchers. The device dould save thousands of lives each year by warning when an area should be evacuated, the scientists say. Such natural disasters are common in countries that experience sudden, heavy rainfall, and can also be triggered by earthequakes and even water erosion.

　　Landslides start when a few particles of soil or rock within a slope start to move,but the early stages can be hard to spot. Following this initial movement,"slopes can become unstable in a matter of hours or minutes," says Nell Kixon at Loughborough university, UK. He says a warning system that monitors this movement “might be enough to evacuate a block of flats or clear a road, and save lives.”

　　The most common way to monitor a slope for signs of imminent landslide is to watch for changes in it’s shape. Surveyors can do this by measuring a sit directly, or sensors sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground can be sued to monitor the shape of a slope. Slopes can, however, change shape without triggering a landslide , so either method is prone to causing false alarms. Now Dixon’s team has developed a device that listens for the vibrations caused when particles begin moving within a slope.

　　The device takes the form of a steel pipe dropped into a borehole in a slope. The borehole is filled in with gravel around pipe to help transmit high-frequency vibrations generated by particles within the slope. These vibrations pass up the tube and are picked up by a sensor on the surface. Software analyses the vibration signal to determine whether a landslide may be imminent.

　　The device is currently being tested in a 6-metre-tall artificial clay embankment in Newcastle, UK. Early results suggest it should provide fewer false positves than existing systems. Once it has been carefully and thoroughly tested, the device could be used to create a complete early-warning system for dangerous slopes.

　　“Loctions with a significant risk of landslides could definitely benefit from a machine like this,” says Adam Poulter, an expert at the British Red Cross. “As long as it doesn’t cost too much.” But, Poulter adds that an early-warning system may not be enough on its own. “You need to have the human coounication,” he says. “Making systems that get warnings to those who need them can be difficult.”

　　41. What does “such natural disasters” in the first paragraph refer to?

　　A. Sudden, heavy rainfall

　　B. Earthquakes

　　C. Water erosion

　　D. Landslides

　　42. Which of the following statements is true of landslides?

　　A. The initial movement is hard to spot

　　B. They start with a movement of a few particles of soil or rock.

　　C. They can be destructive in a matter of hours or minutes.

　　D. All of the above.

　　43. Why do researchers develop a new device to monitor signs of landslides?

　　A. Because the new device can measure the site directly.

　　B. Because the new device can be sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground.

　　C. Becaude the common methodes can cause false alarms.

　　D. Becaude the common methodes are useless.

　　44. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the device, according to Paragraph 4?

　　A. It is filled in with gravel.

　　B. It consists of a steel pipe.

　　C. It is dropped into a borehole filled in with gravel.

　　D. It is connected to a sensor on the surface.

　　45. According to the context, what does the word “positives” in the fifth paragraph mean?

　　A. Positive electric charges.

　　B. Evidences.

　　C. Warnings.

　　D. Predictions